Comparison of Plato, Aquinas, Aristotle and Augustine

Plato Truth and Reality- And isnt it a bad thing to be deceived about the truth, and a good thing to know what the truth is? For I assume that by knowing the truth you mean knowing things as they really are. Truthfulness. He will never willingly tolerate an untruth, but will hate it as much as he loves truth... And is there anything more closely connected with wisdom than truth? (Plato, 380BC) Reason Reason is knowledge of things like mathematics but which require that some postulates be accepted without question, and intelligence, which is the knowledge of the highest and most abstract categories of things, an understanding of the ultimate good.(Plato) World/Universe The intelligible world is made up of the†¦show more content†¦Reason What reason engages in is always its own manifestation, be that language with its power of signification or be that harmonious numbers. In and through the sciences, reason searches for itself. Reasons true object is reason itself. Reason never simply deals with physical or historical objects as such.it manifests itself in culture and nature. World/Universe Everything in the universe was created simultaneously by God, and not in seven calendar days like a plain account of Genesis would require but the six-day structure of creation presented in the book of Genesis represents a logical framework, rather than the passage of time in a physical way - it would bear a spiritual, rather than physical, meaning, which is no less literal. Virtue Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance. The three greatest virtues are first, humility, second, humility, and third, humility. God In the Word of God exist the eternal truths, the species, the formal principles of things, which are the models of created beings. In the intellectual light imparted to us by the Word of God we know both the eternal truths and the ideas of real beings. God is the beginning and end of enerything. St. Thomas Aquinas Truth/Reality Truth is ultimately one because it has its source in God. Reason I am notShow MoreRelatedComparison of Plato, Aquinas, Aristotle and Augustine1473 Words   |  6 PagesPlato Truth and Reality- And isnt it a bad thing to be deceived about the truth, and a good thing to know what the truth is? For I assume that by knowing the truth you mean knowing things as they really are. Truthfulness. He will never willingly tolerate an untruth, but will hate it as much as he loves truth... And is there anything more closely connected with wisdom than truth? (Plato, 380BC) Reason Reason is knowledge of things like mathematics but which require that some postulatesRead MoreProposed Seven Philosophers On The Existence Of God And Their Development Of These Ideas1413 Words   |  6 Pagesspecifically for my choice topic. The seven philosophers are as follows: (1) Socrates, (2) Plato, (3) Aristotle, (4) Francis Bacon, (5) St. Augustine, (6) Thomas Aquinas, and (7) Rene DesCartes. The specific three I want to focus on being; St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and Rene Descartes. Lastly, I will proceed to relate their ideas on the existence of God and their development of these ideas. St. Augustine s epistemology is rationalization. In his argument for the existence of God, he is referringRead MoreWhat Constitute Happiness to Man6479 Words   |  26 Pagesits relation to virtue. The Discussion begins rather than ends with the fact that happiness is what all men desire. Once they have asserted that fact, once they have made happiness the most fundamental of all ethical terms, writers like Aristotle or Locke, Aquinas or J. S. Mill, cannot escape the question whether all who seek happiness look for it or find it in the same things. Holding that a definite conception of happiness cannot be formulated, Kant thinks that happiness fails even as a pragmaticRead MoreThe Philosophy of Happiness11705 Words   |  47 PagesChapter 1 The Philosophy of Happiness Aristotle on Happiness Since the earliest days of Western thought philosophers have concerned themselves with the nature of happiness. One of the earliest to ask the question ‘what is happiness?’ was Aristotle, who, in a manner typical of philosophers, before providing an answer insisted on making a distinction between two different questions. His first question was what was meant by the word ‘happiness’—or rather, its ancient Greek equivalent eudaimonia. HisRead MoreEssay Moral and Ethics: Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide 1776 Words   |  8 Pagesvalue and quality of human life. They also presume that people are capable of making rational decisions, even when they are suffering and incurably ill. According to the definition of euthanasia – â€Å"a good death†, certain ways of dying are better in comparison to others. Usually a good death described ideally as transitioning into death in a pleasant environment as one falls asleep. The ancient Roman orator Cicero said, â€Å"A good death is the ideal way of respecting natural law and public order by departingRead MoreWhat Is The Conceptual Frameworks Of Both Philosophical Positions, And Weak, Theses Of Natural Law2178 Words   |  9 PagesIn philosophical jurisprudence, legal positivism has made a niche for itself in defining itself in opposition to a somewhat straight-laced reading of natural law theory. Often the comparison is based solely on an exceedingly strong and doctrinal interpretation of the two competing models. In this paper I will examine and distinguish the conceptual frameworks of both philosophical positions, detailing the â€Å"strong† and â€Å"weak† theses of natural law ; while in turn also examining the implications ofRead MoreBranches of Philosophy8343 Words   |  34 Pagesmoral philosophy, is concerned with questions of how persons ought to act or if such questions are answerable. The main branches of ethics are meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Meta-ethics concerns the nature of ethical thought, comparison of various ethical systems, whether there are absolute ethical truths, and how such truths could be known. Ethics is also associated with the idea of morality. Platos early dialogues include a search for definitions of virtue. †¢ Political philosophyRead MoreCleanth Brookss Essay Irony as a Principle of Structure9125 Words   |  37 Pagessecond stanza follows the exact same organization and flow as the first. It seems as if the moon rises and falls without us even knowing. We just look and its there. That is what MacLeish believes a poem should be like. He continues on with the comparison to the moon and the way it falls in the third line. As the moon passes through the trees there are times at which it is visible and other times when its not. As he compares it to the falling moon, I think that he feels as if the reader should not Comparison of Plato, Aquinas, Aristotle and Augustine Plato Truth and Reality- And isnt it a bad thing to be deceived about the truth, and a good thing to know what the truth is? For I assume that by knowing the truth you mean knowing things as they really are. Truthfulness. He will never willingly tolerate an untruth, but will hate it as much as he loves truth... And is there anything more closely connected with wisdom than truth? (Plato, 380BC) Reason Reason is knowledge of things like mathematics but which require that some postulates be accepted without question, and intelligence, which is the knowledge of the highest and most abstract categories of things, an understanding of the ultimate good.(Plato) World/Universe The intelligible world is made up of the unchanging†¦show more content†¦Although prudence itself does not perform any actions, and is concerned solely with knowledge, all virtues had to be regulated by it. Temperance- governing natural appetites for the pleasure of senses according to the bounds of reason. No virtue could be sustained in the face of inability to control oneself, if the virtue was opposed to some desire; this is why it is classified as a cardinal virtue, where cardinal signifies pivotal. Justice- concerns the proper ordering of things and persons within a society. Forfitude-is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation God The existence of life and the order of creation can be attributed to God; the cause and creator of the universe. Nature by itself is not God. God is the divine source of justice and goodness; attributes found in all men and woman in varying degrees. Justice is not a human attribute created by us, it is a quality imprinted in our very being by our creator. A being who must also posses the very quintessence of justice in order to endow us with justice. God is personal. It can be likewise argued that the qualities that make humans personal and conscience are what place us above other created things such as plants and animals. Since God is a higher order of being, he is likewise the very quintessence of a personalShow MoreRelatedComparison of Plato, Aquinas, Aristotle and Augustine1464 Words   |  6 PagesPlato Truth and Reality- And isnt it a bad thing to be deceived about the truth, and a good thing to know what the truth is? For I assume that by knowing the truth you mean knowing things as they really are. Truthfulness. He will never willingly tolerate an untruth, but will hate it as much as he loves truth... And is there anything more closely connected with wisdom than truth? (Plato, 380BC) Reason Reason is knowledge of things like mathematics but which require that some postulatesRead MoreProposed Seven Philosophers On The Existence Of God And Their Development Of These Ideas1413 Words   |  6 Pagesspecifically for my choice topic. The seven philosophers are as follows: (1) Socrates, (2) Plato, (3) Aristotle, (4) Francis Bacon, (5) St. Augustine, (6) Thomas Aquinas, and (7) Rene DesCartes. The specific three I want to focus on being; St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and Rene Descartes. Lastly, I will proceed to relate their ideas on the existence of God and their development of these ideas. St. Augustine s epistemology is rationalization. In his argument for the existence of God, he is referringRead MoreWhat Constitute Happiness to Man6479 Words   |  26 Pagesits relation to virtue. The Discussion begins rather than ends with the fact that happiness is what all men desire. Once they have asserted that fact, once they have made happiness the most fundamental of all ethical terms, writers like Aristotle or Locke, Aquinas or J. S. Mill, cannot escape the question whether all who seek happiness look for it or find it in the same things. Holding that a definite conception of happiness cannot be formulated, Kant thinks that happiness fails even as a pragmaticRead MoreThe Philosophy of Happiness11705 Words   |  47 PagesChapter 1 The Philosophy of Happiness Aristotle on Happiness Since the earliest days of Western thought philosophers have concerned themselves with the nature of happiness. One of the earliest to ask the question ‘what is happiness?’ was Aristotle, who, in a manner typical of philosophers, before providing an answer insisted on making a distinction between two different questions. His first question was what was meant by the word ‘happiness’—or rather, its ancient Greek equivalent eudaimonia. HisRead MoreEssay Moral and Ethics: Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide 1776 Words   |  8 Pagesvalue and quality of human life. They also presume that people are capable of making rational decisions, even when they are suffering and incurably ill. According to the definition of euthanasia – â€Å"a good death†, certain ways of dying are better in comparison to others. Usually a good death described ideally as transitioning into death in a pleasant environment as one falls asleep. The ancient Roman orator Cicero said, â€Å"A good death is the ideal way of respecting natural law and public order by departingRead MoreWhat Is The Conceptual Frameworks Of Both Philosophical Positions, And Weak, Theses Of Natural Law2178 Words   |  9 PagesIn philosophical jurisprudence, legal positivism has made a niche for itself in defining itself in opposition to a somewhat straight-laced reading of natural law theory. Often the comparison is based solely on an exceedingly strong and doctrinal interpretation of the two competing models. In this paper I will examine and distinguish the conceptual frameworks of both philosophical positions, detailing the â€Å"strong† and â€Å"weak† theses of natural law ; while in turn also examining the implications ofRead MoreBranches of Philosophy8343 Words   |  34 Pagesmoral philosophy, is concerned with questions of how persons ought to act or if such questions are answerable. The main branches of ethics are meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Meta-ethics concerns the nature of ethical thought, comparison of various ethical systems, whether there are absolute ethical truths, and how such truths could be known. Ethics is also associated with the idea of morality. Platos early dialogues include a search for definitions of virtue. †¢ Political philosophyRead MoreCleanth Brookss Essay Irony as a Principle of Structure9125 Words   |  37 Pagessecond stanza follows the exact same organization and flow as the first. It seems as if the moon rises and falls without us even knowing. We just look and its there. That is what MacLeish believes a poem should be like. He continues on with the comparison to the moon and the way it falls in the third line. As the moon passes through the trees there are times at which it is visible and other times when its not. As he compares it to the falling moon, I think that he feels as if the reader should not